A Christian teenager was arrested and imprisoned for allegedly burning pages of the Holy Quran in a village near Wazirabad, Punjab, officials said Sunday.

Alipur Chattha police station official Asghar Ali told AFP: "On the night of August 12, police received a complaint that a Christian boy had been found burning pages of the Holy Quran outside a shrine."

Ali claimed the 18-year-old had been caught "red-handed" shortly after the complaint had been registered against him, AFP reported.

"He is in jail now," Ali told Al-Jazeera.

The incident was confirmed by another local police official, Pervaiz Iqbal, who is investigating the case.

"When the police took the suspect into custody and brought him to a police checkpost, a crowd of around 200 men gathered outside... demanding the culprit be handed over to them," Iqbal said.

He said the suspect had been "secretly moved" to a police station in Wazirabad where he was interrogated and allegedly confessed to his crime.

The teenager was charged under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code, Iqbal added, referring to a law that hands life imprisonment to "whoever wilfully defiles, damages or desecrates a copy of the Holy Quran or of an extract therefrom, or uses it in any derogatory manner or for any unlawful purpose".

He will stand trial.

Explore: Blasphemy laws: a fact sheet

Blasphemy is a sensitive charge in Pakistan, where even unproven allegations can trigger mob lynchings and violence.

A man was sentenced to death for committing blasphemy on Facebook in June.

In May, a 10-year-old boy was killed and five others wounded when a mob attacked a police station in an attempt to lynch a Hindu man charged with blasphemy for allegedly posting an incendiary image on social media.

At least 65 people have been murdered by vigilantes over blasphemy allegations since 1990.